


Mystery Date

by HoneyBee123



Category: Archie Comics
Genre: Canon - Comics, Comedy, Comedy of Errors, F/M, Fanon, Misunderstandings, Mystery Character(s), Teen Crush, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25486849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyBee123/pseuds/HoneyBee123
Summary: Jughead has been behaving very strangely, even for Riverdale High's standard. Betty is investigating the mystery of why Jughead is being weird.
Kudos: 8





	Mystery Date

**Author's Note:**

> All the characters are based on Archie Comics, not Riverdale the TV series. This story is so cheesy and stupid, but I was bored and just want to write something.

**MONDAY**

It was the number one topic in school at the moment. At first, nobody believed it and considered it a joke. Students were laughing at it at first, and then it changed into disbelief. Everywhere, students were talking about it; hallway, bathroom stalls, even during classes.

Does Jughead have a girlfriend?

It wouldn’t be such a gossip or a big deal if it happened to some random guy. This was high school; people were hooking up and breaking up all the time. But to a certain guy named Forsythe P. Jones a.k.a Jughead, a guy who was well known as a woman-hater, having a girlfriend gave shock throughout Riverdale High.

I needed to investigate. So, I decided to interview people that have known him. Everyone was surprised to hear the news, especially his friends.

* * *

**TUESDAY**

“I have no idea!” His best friend, Archie Andrews, confessed. “I mean, we’ve been buds since pre-school, and I have no idea!”

“Juggiekins has a girlfriend? Has hell freezes over?” Veronica Lodge, a self-proclaimed socialite gasped with the idea.

“Needlenose and a girlfriend?” Reggie Mantle, a great prankster in the school, shook his head. “I didn’t make that up!”

Eye-witnesses were questioned whether this news was true or not. They crossed their hearts and hoped to die; which means they were telling the truth.

“I tell you, it’s true! I saw them together!” Dilton Doiley; a reliable witness who told everyone about the truth. “He was hugging her and kissing her and all of the things when people are dating.” He grimaced. “Just like in the movies.”

Midge Klump and Moose Mason; romantically involved for a long time, said the same thing. “D’uh, yeah. Me and Midge saw him…”

“At the Taco Bell Drive-Through,” Midge said.

“He ordered some tacos.” He paused. “And then he shared it with his gurl.”

Midge nodded. “He SHARED the tacos! He never shares!” Her eyes were wide when she yelled, "Jughead never shares food!"

That was shocking. Having a girlfriend was one thing, but sharing food? I asked them whether they saw the girl. What did she look like?

Dilton just shrugged, “Actually, I didn’t see her properly. He was driving his car, and the girl sat next to him.”

Midge and Moose also said the same thing; they didn’t see her properly. “He was in the car, and she was sitting next to him. It was too dark.”

* * *

**WEDNESDAY**

I interviewed his other friends to get to the bottom of this.

Chuck Clayton; fellow lab-partner also said the same thing. “Damn, that kid finally gets his head straight. I’m so proud of him!” He gave me a high-five, which I took reluctantly.

Nancy Woods; Chuck’s girlfriend asked, “I’d like to know who made him _straight_. So, who’s the girl?”

Who was the girl? Nobody knew. She wasn’t from Riverdale High, because if she was one of the students, they would definitely find out.

It wasn’t Ethel for sure, although it was well known she had been chasing him for quite some time. Ethel wasn’t ugly or anything, but I think her clinging attitude whenever he was around, put him off indefinitely. I asked Ethel whether she heard this news. I didn’t get anything from her, except a scary glance. And she also broke her pencil in two when the subject came up. Apparently, it was a sore subject, so I left in a hurry. Ethel was a very tall girl and she was on the volleyball team. I really didn't want to mess around with her.

I also asked Debbie, one of the girls from Riverdale High he dated. She was new in town, and Jughead dated her but it was nothing serious, so the news went under the radar. Debbie sighed, “Yeah, I used to date him. But it was nothing serious. We went out a couple of times; went to the movies, went to dinner, yadda yadda yadda…” She shrugged. “But he was a bit possessive with his food, so I dumped him.”

Dumped him?

“Well, not dumped him per se. I mean we weren’t steady or anything. But I had enough with the whole of ‘no food share’ policy.” She shrugged again.

Based on the information I gathered from the witnesses, Jughead was sharing food with this new girl. He must be serious. This was the reason why people were making a big deal out of it; Jughead was in love…?

* * *

**THURSDAY**

If the girl wasn’t from Riverdale, was it possible that she came from Pembrooke Academy? Pembrooke was a bit far from Riverdale, but I determine to get the story. I went straight to the biggest gossiper in the Pembrooke Academy.

“Yes, I heard.” Cheryl Blossom applied her lip-gloss and smacked her lips. “Your friend hooked up with someone from our town.” Really? I would finally get some answers! “But don’t ask me. Ask my brother. He knows every girl in this town.” She said.

I asked her opinion about Jughead dating with someone from Pembrooke. All I got was a scoff from her. So, I decided to ask Jason Blossom.

“Anything for you, baby. Ask anything.” He gave me a charming smile. So I asked him about the possibility of Jughead dating a Pembrooke girl. It made him roared with laughter. "Forsythe is dating a girl? A Pembrooke girl??? When pigs fly!"

I went home immediately after Jason spent 20 minutes making fun of Jughead and trying to ask me out on a date. I kicked his leg before I left in a huff, but he only laughed and said that I would someday go out with him.

When pigs fly.

* * *

**FRIDAY**

I decided to ask the main source: Jughead himself.

Jughead smiled at me. He looked relaxed and nonchalant like always, and it seemed it didn’t bother him at all that people were stealing glances at him, whispering behind his back, or just pointing at him.

Archie insisted that he wanted to be with us, but I turned him down because he was a pain in the butt – I was afraid he would scare Jughead off to tell me everything about his new girlfriend.

“I’m in love, Bets.”

Good opening for a conversation. Not in a million years I was expecting that from him. Years I’ve known him, he usually very laid back and easy going. His eyes usually seemed lazy, but now it was glimmering.

Tell me all about it, I said.

“Well… it’s just happened. One day, I was minding my own business… the next thing I knew, I was struck by Cupid’s Arrow.”

Great, he was being sweet. This was Jughead we were talking about; a guy who runs whenever Ethel approaches unless she had sausages as a necklace. Jughead was the guy who always picked an argument with Veronica because he gets bored easily. Jughead was also the one who always made comments that could make girls in class steamed, including Ms. Grundy.

But this was not the case. The boy was in love.

I told him that I was happy for him. He smiled when I said those words. He hugged me tight and pecked me on the cheek. “Betty, I’m glad you’re happy – because I’m happy. You’re my best friend, and I will introduce you to her. Nobody else besides you.” I was going to ask him why he didn’t tell anyone, including his friends and family; about his girlfriend, but he beat me to it. “I will, Betty. In time, I will tell them. But you know how it is…”

I shook my head; no I didn’t know how it was. Why he was being so secretive?

“Because they will never understand.” He whispered to me.

I gulped. This was unlike him. ‘They will never understand’? Right now, I didn’t understand why he was being like this. I asked him where he met her.

“Can you believe that I met her on FriendZone?”

I nodded. Sure, nowadays everyone meets on the internet. Chatting rooms, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, you name it. No surprise there.

“So, yeah. Lemme introduce you to her.”

Did she live in Riverdale? I thought she lived in Pembrooke.

Jughead’s smile grew wider, “You knew about that? Well, she used to live in Pembrooke. But she’s moving to Riverdale.” He beamed when he told me. “She stays at my house.”

I was taken back from what he said. Did he say that she was staying at his house? I asked him whether they lived together, and what did his parents say?

“I haven’t told them yet.” He answered. “But I’m sure they’ll love her.”

I blinked several times. I was speechless. This was not like Jughead. This was a reckless thing to do for 17 years old. There was no way he kept a girl in his house without his parents’ consent! I stared at him for a long time, trying to decide whether it was a good idea to introduce me to his girlfriend – especially with this development.

I told him that he should tell his parents about his girlfriend first. And then, he could introduce us later. Jughead dismissed it and scoffed the idea of telling his parents.

“My parents will not understand!” He almost yelled. But then he smiled again at me. “Come on, Betty. You’re gonna love her. She…she’s nice. She’s kind, beautiful, and she likes food like me!” He laughed.

I held back tears that were forming from my eyes. His laugh seemed strange… like he was holding a terrible secret. I knew him for so long, I knew there was something wrong with the whole thing. A secret girlfriend that nobody ever saw, except glimpses of her? Strange behavior from him, like avoiding his friends and family?

I remember I was watching a movie about a man who met a woman on the internet, and it turned out that the woman was actually a mannequin.

I remember I was reading a novel about a man who obsessed with a woman who lived in the past and he went back in time to meet her but couldn’t be together so he went crazy.

I remember I was listening to a scary story about a man who fell in love with a lady ghost.

I remember I was watching a movie about a man who believed that his friends were helping him while in fact, they were figments of his imagination.

I remember I was watching a horror movie about a man who killed a woman and kept her body in his house.

Those were terrible things that crossed my mind. Jughead would NEVER do anything like that. I watched too many movies and read too many books. I should stop doing those things! Besides, this was Jughead! He was my sweet best friend who would not do such things…

“Listen, Betty. The reason why I wanna introduce you to her because I knew you’d understand. I mean, you how it feels like to be in love – right?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t feel like answering the love question. What did I know about love anyway? I was in love with a guy who loves my best friend. And maybe it wasn’t love, but more like an infatuation. Archie was my best friend since Elementary school, and he was so nice and kind. But he was a klutz. Why I was in love with a klutz?

Love didn’t need an explanation. I didn’t even know what love was. Maybe someday I'd move on from my infatuation with Archie and be with someone else who appreciates me more and love me for real. Jason could be nice despite his upbringing. Reggie also showed more attention to me even though I sensed that he was holding back. Everyone said that I was hopeless. Every time Archie broke his promises to me, I forgave him. I already had forgiven Archie over and over again before he makes any mistakes.

Hopeless. That was me.

Dare I judge Jughead the same way?

Jughead was still looking at me. He was waiting for my response. He bit his lower lip in nervousness. “So whaddya’ say, Bets?”

I looked at him. _“Yeah, Juggie. I know how it feels. I wanna meet her. She must be very special to you…”_

* * *

**SATURDAY**

I went to Jughead’s house with him and prepared myself with anything. ANYTHING. I even carried a pepper mace in my pocket. I had 911 in my speed dial. I knew Karate. Aliens, robots, ghosts, zombies, anything! Bring it on!

I asked where his parents and Jellybean were.

Jughead grimly said, “They’re gone…”

Gone? Like gone where? I swallowed hard.

Jughead didn’t answer and opened the door of his house. The house was dark because the lights were turned off. There was a panic tone in my voice when I said maybe I should wait for his family. Jughead looked at me strangely and cocked his head to the side. “She’s inside. Don’t you wanna meet her?” He took my hand and guided me inside.

Before I could reply, there was a figure lurking inside the house. I saw a glimpse of silvery thing was being held by someone in the dark, and I thought it was a knife. When suddenly the figure was moving fast and scared the hell out of me, I let out a scream.

“Betty! What’s wrong with you?”

Jughead turned on the lights and I saw him standing next to a girl holding a food wrapper. She was a pretty girl with brown curly hair, and she blinked to see me holding a pepper mace.

“Are you okay? You seem weird today.” I didn’t answer him but just stared at the girl who was standing next to Jughead. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on her temple. “Betty, this is Joannie Jumpp. My childhood friend before I moved to Riverdale. She’s my girl now.” I looked at her in wide-eyes. She looked real, definitely not a ghost or a mannequin. “What’s with the mace?” I hid the pepper mace behind my back and sheepishly grinned. He introduced me to her. “Joannie, this is Betty Cooper – my best friend and neighbor that I told you about. She lives a few houses from here. She makes the best oatmeal cookie in the world!”

Joannie smiled and extended her hand towards me. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Joannie.”

I almost didn’t take her hand when I saw their faces, looking at me in confusion. I shook her hand, rather hard, and she winced. Okay, so she was definitely not a fem-bot.

After I found my voice again, I told her how nice to finally meet Jughead’s girlfriend after all these times. I even put a jabbing comment about how everyone thought Jughead was lying or something because we never have seen her at all.

Joannie just giggled and Jughead looked at her lovingly. “Yeah, we should tell everyone about us. But we’re not ready yet.” Joannie said.

“She visited me when I was still dating Debbie during our sophomore year.” Both Jughead and Joannie sighed. “We decided it wasn’t time for us to be together. I met her again on FriendZone, and I was so happy to see her again. And then she and her family moved to Pembrooke this year, but she didn’t like it there – so she decided to move to Riverdale. Next month.” He sighed.

“I stay here while Juggie’s parents are away visiting family members. They’ll be back on Monday. But…” Joannie looked at him. “Juggie hasn’t told his parents that I’m staying for a while.”

Jughead sighed. “I don’t think they would let me be in the same house with a girl without any parents’ supervision – so I decided not to tell them. You know how it is, Bets.”

I remember a few occasions I let Archie stayed at my place when my parents left town, and I only confided with Jughead. Veronica would flip if she found out that Archie spent many sleep-over at my house.

“I told my parents that I stay at my friend’s house. Which is true, but they don’t know it was Jughead’s house. They will say ‘no’ if I told them I wanna stay over at my boyfriend’s house in Riverdale.” She giggled. Jughead giggled too and brushed his nose over hers.

I didn’t know what to say. So Jughead’s parents have been away thus gave Joannie a chance to stay at Jughead’s house. The entire secret, all the hush-hush date with her… so it won’t spread around that Joannie stayed at his house.

I asked him why he didn’t tell us; our friends instead?

Jughead sighed, “Don’t get me wrong – I would love to tell you guys. But who knows, someone might slip telling others about a girl stays at my place? You know how it is. Last week, I saw Moose and Midge eating at Taco Bell. We had to duck. And you know the news in school traveled fast – so I rather keep it quiet. I wanna enjoy this…moment.” He looked at her and kissed her. She kissed him back.

“Of course, we’re gonna tell our parents after we move to Riverdale.” She said to me, like trying to neutralize the situation. “We’d probably gonna be grounded – or yelled at. But no matter…” She smiled. “It’s worth going back and forth right now from Pembrooke.”

I just didn’t know what to say or to do. I couldn’t believe it. Both of them were really in love. And they were having fun with it! Granted, they were keeping the relationship a secret. And I was such a fool to think horrible things about Jughead.

How hard it was to accept the fact that Jughead was capable to fall in love with someone?

I was wrong. Jughead didn’t care what others might think. But he rather keeps his relationship private and enjoys every minute of it.

As I walked to my house, I was pondering my relationship with Archie – how I was the second fiddle. It takes two to have a healthy relationship – and so far, my relationship with Archie was never healthy. It was always the three of us, and sometimes I was the odd one. Joannie decided to move to Riverdale so she could be together with Jughead.

Had Archie made some sacrifice and decision about their relationship?

When I reached the front steps of my house, I came up with a decision; maybe I would regret this, but I was willing to try.

* * *

**SUNDAY**

A car stopped near my house, and the passenger climbed down and approached me who was sitting on the front steps of my house. He was going to pick me up for dinner and movie as usual. Sunday was our annual day together.

“Hey, pretty. Are you ready, yet?”

 _“Ready for what?’’_ I asked. I was teasing him.

He grinned from my line. He was ready for our annual banters. “For dinner and movie with the most gorgeous guy in the world, of course.”

 _“Ah, I see. But I don’t see that guy everywhere here, so I might as well go with you.”_ I smiled.

“Ouch. Nice hook, Cooper. For that, you deserve a scoop of ice cream.” He extended his hand. And with a butterfly in my stomach, I took his hand.

_“Two scoops, Mantle. And this time add some sprinkles on top.”_

“Anything for you, Betty.” He held my hand to the car.

And this time, I had no doubt.

**Author's Note:**

> Joanie Jumpp is a character from the comics and she was Jughead's girlfriend after Debbie.


End file.
